Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Lord Walney’s March 2026 report entitled Undue Influence: The Iranian Regime’s Abuse of the UK Charity System, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Charity Commission's powers to respond to concerns relating to hostile foreign state influence, including the Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust and the Islamic Centre of England; and whether she plans to increase those powers.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Charity Commission is alive to the threat of hostile foreign state influence in charities and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited. Any allegation or evidence of criminal offences, including terrorism, is referred to the police to investigate.
As part of the Government’s action plan for social cohesion we have announced that the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities will be extended. This includes automatically disqualifying individuals with a criminal conviction for hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and helping the Charity Commission to disqualify charity trustees who have been excluded from the UK, deprived of British citizenship or are engaged in conduct which promotes violence or hatred.
HMRC require that for a charity to qualify for an exemption from tax, their income and gains should be applied solely to charitable purposes. Charities may use Gift Aid funds for purposes that align with their charitable objectives and comply with UK charity law. Misuse would breach the Charity Commission rules and could result in regulatory action and tax charges.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Lord Walney’s March 2026 report entitled Undue Influence: The Iranian Regime’s Abuse of the UK Charity System, if she will ensure that charities subject to live Charity Commission investigations relating to hostile foreign state influence and extremism do not receive public support mechanisms, including Gift Aid.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Charity Commission is alive to the threat of hostile foreign state influence in charities and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited. Any allegation or evidence of criminal offences, including terrorism, is referred to the police to investigate.
As part of the Government’s action plan for social cohesion we have announced that the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities will be extended. This includes automatically disqualifying individuals with a criminal conviction for hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and helping the Charity Commission to disqualify charity trustees who have been excluded from the UK, deprived of British citizenship or are engaged in conduct which promotes violence or hatred.
HMRC require that for a charity to qualify for an exemption from tax, their income and gains should be applied solely to charitable purposes. Charities may use Gift Aid funds for purposes that align with their charitable objectives and comply with UK charity law. Misuse would breach the Charity Commission rules and could result in regulatory action and tax charges.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to help prevent anti-competitive practices in the live music and ticketing sectors.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Last year the government announced new consumer protection measures in the ticketing market. A strong consumer protection regime is essential for protecting consumers from harmful practices and stimulating competition to drive down prices. It is also good for businesses – helping to create a level playing field by penalising unscrupulous competitors and giving consumers greater confidence to engage in markets.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) already has powers to investigate and take action against businesses that breach competition law, including by abusing a dominant position in a market. The CMA is currently investigating two secondary ticketing sites for potential breaches of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, under which traders are prohibited from showing consumers an initial headline price for a product and then introducing additional mandatory charges as consumers proceed with a purchase or transaction.
To drive the long-term growth of the UK music sector, the government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan announced a Music Growth Package of up to £30m over three years, launching this spring and designed to boost domestic and international activity in our music sector and encourage private investment. We have also encouraged widespread adoption of a voluntary industry ticket levy on arena and stadium gigs to reverse the decline in grassroots venues and enable more artists to tour internationally.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that football stadiums are accessible to fans with disabilities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government recognises the great importance of sport and physical activity for disabled people at both the grassroots and elite levels.
The Government recently ratified the St Denis Convention. In doing so, we committed to providing an integrated safety, security and service approach at football matches and other sports events. The Sports Ground Safety Authority, one of DCMS’s arm's-length bodies, has begun a partnership with the Council of Europe to better understand and promote the ‘safety’ and ‘service’ element of the convention to the benefit of all fans.
We recognise there are barriers which exist and prevent some people from taking part and spectating. We expect all sports and all clubs to take the necessary action to fulfil their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 so that disabled people are not placed “at a substantial disadvantage” when accessing sports venues.